by Dave Williams | Jul 26, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Students showed continued improvement in the latest Georgia Milestones tests that cratered during the pandemic, the state Department of Education (DOE) reported Friday.
The 2023-24 results showed scores increased or held steady in 10 of 13 assessments in English/language arts (ELA), science, and social studies. Because math assessments were updated to align with the new K-12 mathematics standards first implemented during the school year just ended, Milestones math scores won’t be released until this fall.
“I am proud of Georgia’s students and educators for their continued hard work, which has led to consistent improvements in student performance over the last several years,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “There is certainly still work to be done, but I am confident we are on the right path.”
The strongest gains came among fifth graders, who gained six points in proficiency in English/language arts compared to the previous school year and gained two points in proficiency in science. Sixth and eighth graders each gained three points on the ELA assessment.
On the down side, English/language arts proficiency declined by one point among Georgia third graders.
Allison Timberlake, the DOE’s deputy superintendent for assessment and accountability, attributed the decline to lingering effects of the pandemic, when many schools were closed and students were forced to rely on online instruction.
“Those third graders were in kindergarten during the 2020-21 school year,” Timberlake said. “That probably had a role to play in initially developing those early-learning skills.”
This year’s decline in reading scores among third graders is part of a larger trend. According to 2022 assessment data presented to the Georgia Council on Literacy last fall, 56% of third-grade students were not prepared to move to the next grade.
The General Assembly responded last year by passing the Georgia Early Literacy Act, which required the state Board of Education to provide reading screeners and training in literacy instruction to teachers in kindergarten through third grade.
The DOE is placing full-time literacy coaches in elementary schools throughout the state, focusing on the lowest-performing 5% of schools.
State Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, a leading advocate for improving literacy in Georgia, said the state has invested $6 million to hire literacy coaches for school districts that can’t afford the cost on their own. The new program – Let’s READ, Georgia! – was launched on Thursday during a ceremony in Warner Robins.
“The bigger school districts are doing a good job,” Hickman said. “(But) rural systems don’t have the people or the financial resources to implement this. This is going to be a great thing.”
Teachers are currently training to implement new ELA standards aligned to the science of reading and structured literacy, which emphasize the necessity of systematic instruction on phonics as well as comprehension and vocabulary. The new standards will take effect during the 2025-26 school year.
Dana Rickman, president of the nonprofit Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, said she’s encouraged by this year’s Milestones test results.
“The upward trend, particularly on the Grades 5 and 6 ELA assessments, is promising,” Rickman said. “At the same time, as we dig deeper into the results by district and schools, we see opportunities for growth and improvement. We know that schools still are struggling with the unique challenges that emerged during the pandemic.”
Statewide results as well as district and individual school results are available on the Department of Education website.
by Dave Williams | Jul 26, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – President Joe Biden has signed legislation introduced by two members of Georgia’s congressional delegation establishing independent oversight of the federal prison system.
The measure requires the Justice Department’s Inspector General to conduct comprehensive inspections of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ 122 correctional facilities and provide recommendations to fix any problems it uncovers. The bureau will have 60 days to respond to all inspection reports with a corrective action plan.
The new law also establishes an independent ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff. The ombudsman’s office will create a secure hotline and online form for family members, friends, and representatives of incarcerated people to submit complaints.
“The human rights crisis behind bars in the United States is a stain on America’s conscience,” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said Thursday after the president signed the Federal Prison Oversight Act. “The United States Congress will no longer tolerate the ongoing and widespread abuse of those who are in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ custody.”
Ossoff introduced the bill into the Senate two years ago after leading multiple bipartisan investigations into corruption, abuse, and misconduct within the federal prison system that uncovered a lack of oversight.
“Those incarcerated and the staff who work in our prisons every day deserve an environment free from unnecessary dangers,” said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, who led the effort to pass the bill on the House side. “With the signing of our bill … greater accountability to protect staff and incarcerated individuals is now in place for our federal prison system.”
The legislation drew sponsors from both sides of the aisle, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.
by Dave Williams | Jul 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A newly created state commission looking for ways to improve health-care access and quality for low-income uninsured Georgians held its kickoff meeting Thursday.
The nine-member Georgia Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission was authorized in legislation the General Assembly passed this year overhauling Georgia’s “certificate-of-need” (CON) law governing hospital construction and new medical services.
The panel includes a broad range of health-care executives, academics, and advocates from across the state.
“There’s no silver bullet that will solve all of our issues,” Caylee Noggle, president and CEO of the Georgia Hospital Association and the commission’s chair, told members of the panel. “But there are numerous options to consider.”
The commission received a briefing on the current status of Georgia Medicaid, a joint state and federal program that serves low-income families, pregnant women, children, newborns and aged, blind, and disabled adults.
About 2.3 million Georgians are enrolled in either Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids. Enrollment peaked at 3.1 million during the COVID pandemic but has declined since the COVID-related public health emergency ended in May of last year.
The federal government prohibited disenrolling any Medicaid recipients for three years after COVID-19 struck the nation four years ago. When the public health emergency ended, states went through a “redetermination” process to reassess eligibility for those on Medicaid.
“Medicaid is really the safety-net program for those who have no other options,” Noggle said.
Legislative Democrats have pushed for years for Georgia to expand Medicaid coverage through the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) to people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Republican legislative leaders assured Democrats during this year’s debate on the CON bill that Medicaid expansion would at least get consideration.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has opposed “full-blown” Medicaid expansion under the ACA, citing the cost. Instead, he pushed a limited version of expansion through the General Assembly – Georgia Pathways – capping eligibility at 100% of the poverty level and including a work requirement. However, enrollment in the program since it took effect a year ago has been disappointing.
State Insurance Commissioner John King said his agency is aggressively marketing another alternative championed by Kemp called Georgia Access, a state-based health-insurance portal created in 2022 to direct people seeking health coverage to private insurers and brokers.
“We are not relying on one method of engagement,” King said. “We’re spending a lot of time on the education piece.”
The law that created the commission gave it two years to make recommendations.
Noggle said she would like the panel to meet every four to six weeks. Its first interim report is due Dec. 1.
by Dave Williams | Jul 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Legislation U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., first introduced two years ago to prohibit members of Congress from stock trading has cleared a key hurdle.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the bill Wednesday, sending it to the Senate floor.
“This is essential ethics reform that is long overdue,” Ossoff said Thursday. “Georgians of all political persuasions and Americans of all political persuasions agree that members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we’re in office.”
Ossoff’s bipartisan bill – which is cosponsored by committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. – would prohibit members of Congress from buying stocks and other covered investments and ban lawmakers from selling stocks 90 days after enactment. Spouses and dependent children would be banned from trading stocks starting in March 2027.
The legislation also would require members of Congress, the president, and the vice president to divest from all covered investments starting in 2027.
Since members of Congress are in a position to influence policy choices that affect U.S. businesses and industries, they should not be able to steer those decisions in a way that would benefit their own financial interests, Ossoff said. Also, lawmakers allowed to engage in stock trading enjoy an unfair advantage over rank-and-file Americans because they have access to information not available to the public, he said.
While Ossoff’s bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the Senate committee, it faces a difficult path moving forward in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to pass legislation. Even if it gets through the Senate, it faces an uncertain future in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.
However, the legislation is popular with the American public. Polls have shown most Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and independents – overwhelmingly support banning stock trading by members of Congress.
Ossoff said he hopes to get a floor vote on his bill in the Senate before Election Day in November.
by Dave Williams | Jul 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp is questioning State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ decision not to recommend adding an Advanced Placement African American studies course to the state’s curriculum offerings during the upcoming school year.
In a letter to Woods dated Wednesday, Kemp posed 10 questions asking the schools chief to explain why he made that recommendation. Specifically, the governor wanted to know how much it cost the state to pilot the course this year, why Woods opted not to move forward with the course when it passed an initial review made before the pilot, and how many other pilot courses have not been recommended for continuation in the last decade.
“The wellbeing of Georgia’s children and their educational opportunities is one of my top priorities,” Kemp wrote. “As a long-time believer that families should ultimately make the decisions which best meet their child’s academic needs and futures, I would appreciate your attention to the above questions and answers you and your staff can provide in a timely manner.”
Woods’ recommendation this week not to move ahead with the AP African American studies course touched off a firestorm of protests from Georgia educators and legislative Democrats. The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus released a statement Wednesday calling the decision a “detrimental step backwards” in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.
Woods also put out a statement Wednesday defending his recommendation. Essentially striking a blow for local control, Woods wrote that local school districts are free to offer African American studies using an existing course code if they choose to do so. Those districts that opt to offer the course will receive state funding, he wrote.
In his letter, Kemp also asked Woods which specific parts of the AP African American studies curriculum prompted his decision not to recommend state Board of Education approval of the course, how many students took the pilot and how many school districts offered it.
by Dave Williams | Jul 24, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Power should delay building three new “dual-fuel” turbines at Plant Yates near Newnan to allow time to consider potentially less expensive alternatives, an independent energy consultant said Wednesday.
The Atlanta-based utility received bids late last week in an all-source procurement request for proposals (RFP) to expand its electrical generating capacity to meet Georgia’s rapidly increasing needs for power. Taking the time to evaluate those bids could help Georgia Power reduce its reliance on natural gas, Albert Lin testified during a hearing held by the state Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The amount of dependency on natural gas generation by Georgia Power is higher than the national average,” Lin said. “Further increasing the company’s dependence on natural gas will only expose the system and its users to greater incidence of price shocks. … It will show up in customers’ bills.
Georgia Power is seeking PSC certification to build the three turbines, which would run mostly on natural gas but switch to ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel when and if gas is unavailable, typically on cold winter mornings.
The project’s opponents are concerned not only about Georgia Power becoming more reliant on carbon emitting fossil fuels. They also argue natural gas prices are highly volatile.
“The monthly price swings for natural gas often exceed 50%,” said Lin, who testified Wednesday on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “Moreover, the volatility is increasing over time.”
But Preston Thomas, a lawyer for the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff, said worries over price volatility with natural gas are exaggerated. The staff has recommended approval of the project.
“While there have been spikes, there have also have been sustained periods of low prices,” Thomas said.
Jeffrey Grubb, director of resource policy and planning for Georgia Power, testified that waiting until the company completes the all-source RFP process would delay its plans to add energy capacity that is sorely needed to service a growing number of power-hungry data centers cropping up in Georgia.
“Delaying the certification proceeding or decision is simply not an option,” Grubb said. “The RFP process, while generally beneficial, is time consuming and does not allow for the rapid deployment necessary to meet the company’s near-term capacity needs.”
Grubb also pointed out that the first of the new turbines Georgia Power plans to build would go into service during the winter of 2026/2027, while the RFP is geared toward the winter of 2029/2030 and beyond.
The PSC is scheduled to vote on the project on Aug. 20.
